Football Preview 2012: Offensive Line Worries Alma’s Coach

ALMA — Alma head coach Todd Dilbeck had some sleepless nights during the summer.

Dilbeck is also the position coach for the offensive line, which is the most inexperienced unit for the Airedales this season.

“Do I have a few more gray hairs?” Dilbeck said. “We have some younger kids that are going to have to develop. That’s a plus and a minus. We’ll have them for three years, but we have to throw them into the shark tank early and that’s pretty tough.”

Only senior guard Lane Ball (6-foot, 250 pounds) returns with any significant playing time on the offensive line. Ball started all 11 games for the Airedales last season. Senior center Chris Sipe (5-10, 245) started the playoff game at Hot Springs Lakeside after playing against Greenwood in the regular-season finale after an injury to a starter.

Senior Chris Smith (5-11, 245) and junior Michael Edwards (5-9, 225) have been working at left guard. Senior Newt Peters (6-2, 255) will play left tackle with junior Michael Nicholson (5-9, 205) set at right tackle. Junior Jake Parker (6-2, 285) has been working at right guard with Ball. Sophomore Chandler Nicholson (6-1, 235) is also working at the tackle spots.

“They’re green,” Dilbeck said. “They’re doing some great things. We just have to get consistently better doing good things.”

All-state safety Gage Jensen (6-2, 180) has successfully made the transition to quarterback. Jensen, a senior, started against Morrilton last season and completed 21-of-28 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns, playing in place of injured starter Brady Bradley.

Jensen was the starting quarterback in junior high and started every game the last two years on the varsity at defensive back. No one is happier to have such an experienced player take over the offense than new offensive coordinator Chris Gunter.

“He’s one of the smartest kids I’ve ever been around,” Gunter said. “He does a great job of leading our offense. We have a smart quarterback back there that has played a couple of years.”

Jensen spent the summer playing catch with many of his talented receivers.

“He’s the guy that has to pull the trigger for us,” Dilbeck said. “He’s level headed. We have a good corps of receivers back. We’ve changed our offense up some. We have some receivers in the backfield, and they catch the ball and get out there. The biggest key is filling a couple of spots in the offensive line.”

Junior Gage Battles (6-0, 180) is the top returning receiver after catching 26 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns last year at slot receiver. Senior Dillon Work (5-9, 178) also logged some starts at slot receiver last year and caught 12 passes for 153 yards. Senior Alex Elam (6-1, 165) saw action at receiver with Junior Lance Wheeler (5-10, 168), Junior Malachi White (5-8, 185) and junior Austin Short (6-3, 175). Nate Whitson (5-10, 175) led the team in rushing with 477 yards and five touchdowns, and caught 22 passes for 129 yards.

“We’ve got some speed outside, and we’ve got some tall guys outside,” Gunter said. “It’s not unusual to have either speed or size outside, but it is unusual to have both. We have them both. We have some scatbacks that can play a receiver in the slot or play running back in the backfield. These kids understand it’s their offense. They take pride it. They’ve taken ownership of it.”

Gunter came to Alma after a successful stint as the offensive coordinator at Greene County Tech, which was one the first teams on the east side of the state to implement the Spread offense.

“On the west side of the state, football is a little more important,” Gunter said. “There’s a little more emphasis on it. Where I was from basketball was the big deal. The west side is always so competitive. The (Division-I) guys are coming from the west side of the state. Schools take it more important. The facilities are great. The coaches are great. The schools are great.”

As an assistant coach at the University of Tulsa, Gunter studied under Todd Graham, Gus Malzahn and Chad Morris. Gunter is a Beebe graduate and played at Arkansas Tech.

“My main mentor was Chad Morris,” Gunter said. “He was at Tulsa my last year and is at Clemson now. He’s an old high school coach in Texas. Probably 70 percent of the stuff I do was him. I’ve taken some from Gus and Todd Graham, too.”

He also thinks Alma fans will be excited about what they see on offense this season.

“The offense you’re going to see on Friday night is the same offense you’re going to see on Saturday afternoon,” Gunter said. “Auburn, Arizona State and Clemson all run this. They’re going to go home after winning on Friday night and see it on the national stage on Saturday. They’re going to see a very high-tempo offense, very fast and competitive.”

5A-West

Alma Airedales

Todd Dilbeck, 6th season

2011 Record: 7-4

Returning Starters

Offense: 5

Defense: 6

Schedule

Aug. 31 Van Buren

Sept. 7 at Greenwood

Sept. 14 Russellville

Sept. 21 at Clarksville

Sept. 28 Morrilton

Oct. 5 Harrison

Oct. 12 at Huntsville

Oct. 19 at Vilonia

Oct. 26 Greenbrier

Nov. 2 at Shiloh Christian

Games To Watch

Aug. 31 Van Buren — The Airedales open a very stiff nonconference slate with the first of the two biggest rivals in school history and then travel to Greenwood next week.

Sept. 28 Morrilton — Alma hosts the Devil Dogs in a game that pits the two preseason favorites for the 5A-West championship in just the second week of conference play.

Nov. 2 at Shiloh Christian — The Airedales conclude the regular season with their fourth road trip of conference play. The Saints petitioned to play up to 5A when they could have been playing in 3A but Shiloh should contend for a 5A playoff berth.

Prediction

With 11 starters back, the Airedales expect to contend for a conference championship and, at the least, a home game in the first round of the playoffs.